Flange forming apparatus



Nov. 7, 1944. K. HERZOG FLANGE FORMING APPARATUS Filed April 12, 1943 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Y Z. E R 0m 1 M E J V T mm 0 A Y B No 7, 19 4: v V K. HERZOG 2,3 2,006

FLANGE FORMING APPARATUS mp --..e.-.:=:e. .386 42 l 0 42 r I IN L Z V 'lNVENT OR KARL mznzoe 7 BY m 6 ATTORNEY Nov. 7, 1944. K. HERZOG 2,362,005

FLANGE FORMING APPARATUS Y Filed April- 12, 1945 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTO KARL HER s 3 ATTORNEY Patented Nov. 7, 1944 "u Nrreo me FORMING APPHRNBUS Kai llHerzog, Nortfl'lonawa n'da, N. 'Y., .assignor toCurtiss Wright Corporation, "a corporation of Delaware -.Application April 12, 1943,.Serial No. 482 1793 (Cl. 'I'53-12) "5 Claims.

iTh-isiinventi'onzrelates .to fi ange forming apparatus and "particularly :to an apparatus which is suitable for the'working of tempered .omanneaied stock-material.

With the ausual iorm'ingmunch and'die block apparatus, "the article sis punched from soft @material 'and .then ahneal'ed totgive to the Larticle its firial-khardness.

*Theefict of the annealing operation is 'to throw the *iflange' out of its true angle with tne web,'.if.in-c:fa'ct it ever was t'riue or completely formed by the punching operation.

It .is, therefore, can object of. theg-p'resent invention to provide a? flange .formin-g 'appa'ratus Whereby the necessary .hand operations inherent "with the articles-madevwithapresent day die :arrangements, Willrb eliminated.

a It is another object .of the invention to provide :a fiangeformingap-paratus Whichwill punch the article directly into its -:.fina1=shape from I a stock material which.haswalready beexrannealed.

According to the vpresent Y invention, there has been provided in the opening of'the die block a grooved cylinder ==adapted to receive a part of the blank as itis forced into the dieopening and arranged .torotate due to the engagement of a spring pad therewith-in its downward movement, to wrap the flange against the inwardly inclinedior-receding face-of the forming punch. This inwardly inclinedface of the forming punch .is at an angle ofsome IZ-degrees or so beyond "a'perpendicular with-the web so'thatwhen the annealed material is-usedthe flange will spring "back to'its desired 90 .angle with the web. The

rotation iseivento the cylinderby the down- "wardm'ovementof' the spring pad which has on its bottom an upwardly and outwardly inclined -s1irface-'a'dapted toengage one face of the groove in the roller so as to forcethe roller about its axis w'ith' the other 'face of the groove bearing against "the outer' face of the flange to press it against the receding face of the forming punch.

The :amount of this "rotation is therefore measuredbythe amount ofanglexgiven to theinclined :sired angle. ilhe iovrer-bending of a1:2 ime been .f'oundito bea'sufiic-ient aforithe-usual annewledhheet a-metai: such -zas being used-in the -aircraftindustry.

[The apparatus .however, can be 'adjusted rand vmade :forcuse rwithfiany type .ofimateriall, bymlten ing the amount of inclination of theinclined-surfaces on the spring mad and forming punch.

ILFDI other objects-rand forra better understandof 1the invention neierence' may .bethad-ito the following detailed description itaken 12in rconnection with the-accompanying drawings; in WhlCh :Fig. 21 isaaperspective View of-the-iflange-jorming apparatus for one term tofmnvartiolev broken away to show in c cross-ee'ction some-.of :the. -.parts thereof.

Fig. 2 is am -perspective wiew of the blank "used inthexarrangementrshown.inEia.1.

Fig. 3 is.a.-perspective .view.,of .the.finalartie1e 1 pressed [from .the apparatus-shown in .Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view in elevation,

ofthe-.flange-formingoapparatus shown in Eig. 1

as-takenalong the. line -44 oft-Fig.- 5.

Fig. 5-is .also a cross-sectional .vieW,-in-.eleva- .tion,.takenlaterallythroughttheapparatus,both .of .these views .being .shown with .the .forming .punch .out of -engagement and with the lblank resti-ngion-theidie block.

. Fig. I6lis. a cross-sectional view v similarto. Fig. 4 showing the "die blank partiallypressed'intothe die 'block and. just ,prior .to the .fianges 'thereof being .worked bythe.grooved rollers, the section face portion ofthe-spring pad. The outer "edges of the spring :pad are relieved inwardlyto permit the rotation of thegrooved roller. When the finished article is released .f romthe die block, the flanges "will" "spring outwardly to assume thedebeing taken along line u 6-16 46f .Fig. .7 (and. looking in .the (directiomof the arrows thereof.

Fig. "'7 .is a .ffill :end view, in .elevation, .of .the

. apparatus at the .sameestage ditheipressing top-- .eration asTFig. '6.

Fig.8 is acrossesectional viewgin elevation, similar to Figs. 4 .and'lfi .blit .at-the @final istageq'of the pressing operation and-eaiterflthemoller .le-

ments have operated to "forcathe'fflanges against thefinwardlyiinclined.faces o'fltheiforniingpunh.

fFig. 9..is. an exploded aridperspetivmiew of a flange-forming apparatus which is "adapted 1' for three sides thereof.

Figsflioiandil are respectivlygperspective "and sectional viewsbf an; aircraft tib'whichisformed from" the apparatuseshown -in Fig. 9, the section .of "Fig. 11 .being vtaken along-ltheelines 1 l-ll cot Fig. 10.

Referring now. particularly toCE'igsI. Ltd-8 ,1. there isishown .a .die block. I 5 .havingeaionming opening 1:6 thereintan drin whichtheresis disposedaa-spring *Oll'rbiflSiHQ'tMd' trimmed. for movement! inwardly and iagainst -theeaction of -a spring 48 located faces 38 of the forming punch 34.

in the die shoe l9. When the pad I! is at its full height, it is flush with the top face of the die block l5. A blank 20, Fig. 2, previously cut to the proper design is placed on the top of the die with one edge against a stop plate or guide 2| on the top of the die block and another edge against a stop plate 22 on the top of the spring pad. These stop plates serve to properly center and locate the blank over the opening IS in the die block.

The blank has two side portions 23 and 24 from which full 90 flanges are to be formed. It also has an extension 25 which is to be bent by an inclined block 26 at one end of the opening IS in the die block I5, which is given only a slight angle with respect to a web 21 of the finished article as shown in Fig. 3. Instead ,of the blank being of soft material, as is usually the case with the present day methods, the blank is of annealed or hardened material and because of its being so, the portions of it will have a certain defined springiness which must be taken into consideration upon foldingof the portions 23 and 24 in the die block so that the article will have these portions angled at 90 as the article is removed from the die block.

In the sides of the opening it directly beneath the portions 23 and 24 respectively of the blank 29, there are disposed rollers or cylindrically shaped elements 28 having a 90 angled groove 29 running coextensively along the length of the same. The apex of this groove is at the axial center of the roller and there is provided two faces 30 and 3| which serve in a manner to be described.

On the bottom of the spring pad ll, there are provided downwardly inclined working faces 32 adapted to engage respectively faces 3| of the groove 29 in the roller as the spring pad is forced downwardly. Inasmuch as the faces 32 are inclined, the same upon sliding over the faces 3|, will efiect a rotative movement of the roller 28 about its axis. The pad is also provided with an inclined or upwardly receding edge 33 so relieved as to permit this turning movement of the roller in order that the upwardly extended face 39 of the groove 29 can be turned to position beyond the edges 33 of the spring pad I! in a manner as shown in Fig. 8.

This downward movement of the blank 20 has been effected by means of a forming punch 34 having a bottom face 35 which engages the top or web portion 21 of the blank to effect the bending of the portions 23 and 24 over the edges 36 of the opening Hi. This step of the bending is shown in Fig. 6. Further movement of the forming punch to the position shown in Fig; 8, causes the rotation of the'rollers 28 so that the upwardly extended face 30 of the groove 29 will be brought against flanges 23 and 24 to efiectively force the flange upwardly against receding or inclined side The amount of rotation of the roller is determined by the angle of inclination of the bottom face portion 33 of the spring pad I1. With the materials such as ordinarily used in the aircraft industry, it has been found that a rotation of the flanges 12 beyond the vertical is sufficient to give a final article a 90 flange upon the article being removed from the die block.

It should now be apparent that there has been provided a flange forming apparatus particularly adaptable for the working of sheet metal which has been hardened or annealed, whereby considerable manuallabor has been-eliminated in the manufacture of pressed metal articles which have to be made of hardened stock. The flange-forming apparatus is so constructed that it is readily assembled or disassembled by turning retaining screws 40 and is connected to a punch press base by means of a clamping bracket 4|. The rollers 28 are retained in the opening l6 against lateral movement by side plates 42 screwed into the side of the die block [5 by screws 43.

Referring now to Fig. 9, there is shown a flangeforming apparatus particularly constructed for the forming of flanges on a wing rib. This forming apparatus includes three grooved rollers so as to provide three flanges 45, 46, and 41 on a finished rib 48. These ribs 48 also have flanged lightening holes 49 which are formed during the same operation in which the flanges are formed.

This forming apparatus includes a die shoe or base 50 on which are located at spaced intervals, a nest of notched blocks 5| respectively having stop plates 52 thereon. These stop plates 52 at their inner edges are rolled downwardly so as to facilitate the movement of portions of the blank 53 over the same upon the blank being pressed downwardly thereover by a forming punch 54 having a downwardly extending contacting or working plate 55 thereon. This contacting plate 55 has receding or inwardly inclined side faces 55 against which the final flanges are pressed by grooved rollers 51 mounted for rotation in the blocks 5|.

There is also provided a spring pad 58 having a bottom contacting face 59 adapted to engage a face 60 of a groove 6| in the roller 51. Also the edges of the spring pad 58 are inwardly receded as indicated at 62 so as to permit the rotary motion of the roller 51 as the blank is forced through the last part of the punching operation. The spring pad 58 is supported on a plurality of hydraulic cushioning arrangements, one of which is shown at 63, and located within the base 50. The spring pad 58 also has upwardly extending projections 5.4 for forming the lightening holes 49.

While various changes may be made in the detail construction of the present apparatus, it shall be understood that such changes shall be within the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a flange forming apparatus, a stationary die block having an opening formed therein, a roller mounted in said block at one side of said opening, said roller being rotatable about a fixed axis and being formed with an axially extending channel having side and bottom walls, a yieldingly-supported pad which is located in said opening and upon which a blank may be arranged, and a forming punch which is movable to engage said blank and to force said pad with said blank into said opening, said pad being engageable with the bottom wall of said channel to rotate said roller and thereby cause the side wall of said channel to bend a portion of said blankaround said forming punch.

2. In a flange forming apparatus, a stationary die block having an opening formed therein, a roller mounted in said block at one side of said opening, said roller being rotatable about afixed axis and being formed with an axially'extendi ng channel having side and bottom walls, a yieldingly-supported pad which is 'located in said opening and upon which a blank may be arranged, said pad having a lateral extension which overlies the bottom wall of -said channel and having an opening formed therein,

which has an under side'normally spaced from and normally nonparallel with respect to said bottom wall, and a forming punch which is movable to engage said blank and to force said pad with said blank into said opening, said extension being engageable with the bottom wall of said channel to rotate said roller and thereby cause the side Wall of said channel to bend a portion of said blank around said forming punch.

3. In a flange forming apparatus, a die block rollers mounted in said block at opposite sides of said opening, each of said rollers being formed with an axially extending channel having side and bottom walls, a yieldingly-supported pad which is located between said rollers and upon which a blank may be arranged, and a forming punch which'is movable to engage said blank and to force said pad with said blank into said opening, said pad being engageable with the bottom walls of said channels to rotate said rollers in opposite directions and thereby cause the side walls of said channels to bend portions of said blank around said forming punch.

4. In a fiange forming apparatus, a die block having an opening formed therein, rollers mounted in said block at opposite sides of said opening, each of ,said rollers being formed with an axially extending channel having side and bottom walls, a yieldingly-supported pad which is located between said rollers and upon which a blank may be arranged, said pad having a body portion and laterally extending flanges, the latter overlying the bottom walls of said channels, and a forming punch which is movable to engage said blank and to force said pad with said blank into said opening, the flanges of said pad bein engageable with the bottom walls of said channels to rotate said rollers in opposite directions and thereby cause the side walls of said channels to bend portions of said blank around said forming punch.

5. In a flange forming apparatus, a die block having an opening formed therein, rollers mounted in said block at opposite sides of said opening, each of said rollers being formed with an axially extending channel having side and bottom walls, a pad which is located between the side walls of the channels in said rollers and upon which a blank may be arranged, said pad having a body portion which extends below the bottom walls of said channels and laterally extending flanges which overlie said walls, means for normally holding said pad in a position in which the under sides of said flanges are spaced from and nonparallel with respect to said bottom walls, and a forming punch having receding side walls and whichis movable to engage said blank and to force said pad with said blank into said opening, the under sides of the flanges of said pad being engageable with the bottom walls of said channels to rotate said rollers in opposite directions and thereby cause the side walls of said channels to bend portions of said blank around said forming punch.

KARL HERZOG. 

